Thunderstorm
by x3Pinkie
Summary: AU What happens when a certain blondehaired stranger lands at the doorstep of a young Automail engineer? Ed x Win
1. The Arival

Pinkie here! Fic #2 here ;3 AU, EdxWinry (of coarse)

Summary: What happens when a blonde-haired stranger appears at the Rockbells house, needing automail and a place to stay?

Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist. I'm only writing this disclaimer in the first chapter (I would think by now people would realize you wouldn't be writing fictions if you owned the show) so don't sue me

Edit- Got rid of all those "br" thing X3

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Winry Rockbell, a young automail engineer, yawned, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow, wiping her blonde hair along with it. This random guy had just stormed into her shop, demanded that she finished this automail piece, and she had less then 2 days to do it. She clenched her teeth as the guy complained beside her.

"Isn't it done yet?" He drawled, slinking into the room. He had brown hair and a scruffy looking mustache. Winry was generally confused; he didn't even HAVE a prosthetic limb. But he offered her a lot of money, so prosthetic limb or not, she couldn't refuse his offer.

"Almost" she replied, tightly. This guy sure knew how to get on her nerves. How did he expect her to make a brand new automail from scratch in less then three days? And she didn't even see how he could use it, anyway. Why would someone without a prosthetic limb WANT one? When she had tried to ask him about this, he just snorted and said "I have the money you want, why are you asking me all these damn questions?" Winry sighed. She had very little sleep last night, and now he wouldn't even let her break to get water. One meal a day and bathroom breaks. She thought bitterly that he must have been a slave driver in his past life.

"Done" She sighed with relief, smiling. He looked it over, raised his lip to it, but paid and left anyway. To which Winry was very glad. She was getting overworked, and she took the break as a nice excuse to plop down exhausted on the couch. Sense her grandmother, Pinako Rockbell, had died, Winry was having more and more pressure set on her. She had to man the shop by herself, and take care of herself and Den without any help at all. She was only 19, and yet, so much responsibility was placed on her already.

Groaning, she realized she was really hungry. As much as she just wanted to sit and lay down, relax and take a nap, her growling stomach protested angrily. Making herself a sandwich, she heard the tinkle of the bell, a sign that someone was coming in. "God damn it…" She muttered angrily. She just wanted to relax. She turned to the door, ready to yell at who ever entered that she was just about to close, but stopped straight in her tracks.

She couldn't help herself, her jaw dropped. He was gorgeous . Pure, gorgeous. He had long blonde hair, which he had pulled into a ponytail, except for his bangs, which were framed around his face. He was wearing a black shirt, with a black coat, and then another, red this time, coat on top of that one. She gaped. He was even wearing gloves! How could he not be sweltering under all that? She looked at her belly/tube top and short skirt, and she was still hot. He smirked at her.

"You'll catch flies doing that" He said, amused. Winry blushed crimson, and hurriedly shut her mouth.

"Er, I'm so sorry… I just, well, I was just wondering… aren't you hot in all that?" she cursed herself under her breath. She was stuttering and acting stupid. He must think her ditzy already.

"Nah, I'm used to it." He shrugged, smiling still, "I'm Edward Elric, what's your name?"

Winry cleared her throat, still red in the face. "I'm, um, Winry Rockbell. Nice to meet you" He smiled, and looked around. Winry suddenly got embarrassed, she hadn't cleaned for awhile, and in so, the house was rather messy.

"Do you live here alone?" He asked, in a semi-concerned voice. Winry nodded sullenly. "My grandmother just recently died…" She said in a quiet voice. She could've slapped herself. Why did she have to say that? And in front of a perfect stranger, no less! He didn't need to know about her private business! She held back growling at herself.

"I'm sorry" He said, equally as quiet as myself. I could here from his tone that he really meant it, to. That made me feel a little better, but then we lapt into an awkward silence. He cleared his throat.

"Well, er, I notice you're eating, so I could always come back later…"

Winry blushed, again. What was wrong with her? Why did she blush over every little thing this man said? "Um, no, its fine" She said softly, not really knowing why her voice was so low.

"Look, I'm sorry if the subject of your grandmother bothered you. I never meant to make you uncomfortable or upset. It wasn't my place to ask such a personal question" He was trying to make her feel better, but there wasn't really anything personal about the question 'Do you live alone?' or, maybe there was, and she just wasn't reading far enough into it.

"So, um, Mr. Elric was it?"

"Call me Edward. Mr. Elric reminds me of my father" He noted bitterly, and Winry had to hold her tongue on asking why that was a bad thing.

"Okay, Edward, you must have come here for something, is there anything you need?"

He nodded, and showed her his arm and leg. She gasped. As he took of his two coats and lifted his pant leg up, she saw that his right arm and left leg were made of automail. "The arm isn't working that well, and my leg is about two inches to short" He said the last part as if he were slightly happy. That's when Winry noticed it. Edward was fairly short, about as tall as she was herself, and if the boy looked about how old she thought he was (around her own age) he should be taller. But she kept that comment to herself.

"Okay. I'll see what I can do. Do you have a place to stay? I'm afraid I won't be able to finish this all today. I just got done with a tiring offer, and I'm slightly exhausted." He nodded kindly, but then stopped.

"Er, I don't know of any places I could stay…" Winry smiled, and walked over to the wall next to him, where a map was located. "There's an inn at the town, but it's a little far away… We also, er, have a guest bedroom if the inn is to far" She turned pink again, something Edward was bound to noticed. She cleared her throat, and turned her back towards him.

"Um, is something wrong, Winry-it's Winry, right?" She nodded, "You're acting a little strange…" She turned to look at him, and he had such a quizzical expression on his face it almost made her giggle. She suppressed a small smile.

"No, nothings wrong. Where do you want to stay? I'm afraid I would have to make you pay to stay here as much as a hotel would…"

"Then why bother the trip to town and back?" He said, smirking slightly. "If you're sure its not an intrusion or a problem, I'd be happy if you would let me stay here"

Winry nodded, and hopped to i hell /i she wasn't blushing again.

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Well, that's my first chapter! Sorry it wasn't that long xx I'll be making them longer as I go (hopefully)

Please Review! It helps me get the chapters out faster.

-Pinkie


	2. The History

Here's chapter two! Hope you like it as much as you did chapter one!

WARNING: Minor spoilers!

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It was weird having another person at the house all the time. After Pinako died, Winry thought she would be living alone, at least for a long time. But she had to keep telling herself this wasn't permanent. As …attractive… as he was, he was only here for Automail repairs. She had to repeated that to herself almost every time she saw him.

He was nice enough, though. He helped with cooking and cleaning and such, and when she told him she would have to redo his whole leg because she didn't recognize the structure, and for her to make a foreign automail leg two inches taller there was almost a certain chance that it wouldn't work correctly. He had even insisted on paying her more for it, but she refused.

In the less than 24 hours he had been there, Winry learned that he was a State Alchemist, and i thee /i FullMetal Alchemist, child (Well, practically adult now) prodigy no less. She also learned he had a brother. i Had /i a brother. When he said that, he sounded rather sad, she didn't push the subject (well, much anyway.) She learned that his mother was dead and his father was as good as dead, and he left it at that.

She didn't know why, but she could just… tell that his past was not something she had dealt with before, and she could almost say she pitied him, but she could also tell he wasn't the type of person to accept pity. She knew when he looked at her that he could sense it, and didn't like it. She held her ground, er, mostly.

"Hey Winry! Who's this?" Edward's voice called from downstairs. She finished washing her hands (Her hands and cloths had been covered with oil, so she went to change) and came downstairs. Edward was looking quizzically at a small light brown, almost blond puppy on her kitchen floor. Winry smiled sadly.

"Oh, that's Nina. We got her when my old dog, Den, died. She's only about a year old, and I guess her growth is stunted, or something. We named her Nina after an incident happened with a friend of mine." After she had finished, she looked to Edward, who she had been trying to avoid gazing at. He looked at her strange.

"What... er, what friend of yours would that be, if I may ask?"

Winry was confused, but she decided to answer anyway. "Er, I don't remember his last name, but his first name was Alphonse, and he told me this story of this little girl and his older brother- Something the matter, Edward?" Edward had drained of color, and was looking at Winry in a way that made her terrified of him. "E-Ed? Whats wrong?"

(A/N- I would've ended it here, but that would be to short, wouldn't it? X3)

"You knew... Al?" Winry nodded, backing up slightly, still confused. What was going on? Why was Edward acting this way? Sure, she hadn't known him long, but still he didn't seem like this time of person to her, that would just freak out without explaining even the littlest thing.

Seeing the look on her face, Edward sighed, and flopped into a chair, head in his hands. He had to think. He wasn't sure what this ment- according to Mustang, before Al died, he didn't remember anything of the three years they spent together! So what did this mean...? When would he of had time to go visit ANYBODY? Especially some automail engineer that they'd never met. "When... when did you meet Al?" Edward started slowly, Winry still looked scared.

"A long time ago... about a year, maybe. He said he had lost his memory and was looking for his brother, something about another world, I didn't follow, but he said he remembered one thing, a little girl named Nina, a chimera, and his older brother... why-?" She halted, and set a piercing gaze onto Edward. "Are you him? Are you his older brother...? I thought he said you had died...! He said you had gone to another world or something! I thought he was crazy, but if you are..." She lapsed herself into silence, and just stood there quietly watching Edward. He had his long blonde bangs covering most of his face, so Winry couldn't make out what his expression was.

"Is it alright if I go to bed? I need to think..." Winry flinched, Edward sounded so sad... She looked down. If he didn't want to tell her, why would she care? She hadn't known him long, anyway. But this whole brother thing was just... eating at her. If he didn't answer... does that mean he really was Alphonse's brother? And what if he WAS? Is there something more to this "magic" called Alchemy? With extreme difficulty, Winry held her tongue.

She was rapped out of her thoughts by a firm hand on her shoulder. She looked around to see Edward next to her, facing straight ahead, "Don't worry about it, okay?" He said firmly, before walking away towards the upstairs. Winry had had it, her pity turned into anger.

"What do you mean 'don't worry about it'? You asked! Im sorry if the topic made you sad or something, but I don't know, I still think I have a right to know whats going on..." She huffed, and her hand lingered on her belt, right next to her wrench. She did it almost like she didn't even realize what she was doing. The longer she waited, the close her subconscious hand went further and further towards the wrench, until she had a firm grasp on it...

"OW! WHAT THE HELL?" Edward was on the floor, and that only seemed to register to her. Ed was holding his head angrily, and glaring at Winry. "What the HELL was that for?" And without really meaning to say, Winry blurted out.

"For being an arrogant, and rather short, Alchemy freak without any decency to tell a girl something she wants to know!" Winry yelled loudly, and then smirked at the dumbfounded look on his face.

"At least I'm not some violent automail-freak tomboy! And I'M NOT SHORT!" He yelled back angrily, and Winry's smirk quickly turned to one of astonishment. Here they were, almost twenty years old, and bickering like elementary school children! Edward seemed to realize this, too, and both blushing they muttered rather rude apologies.

Dinner was silent, but it no longer had the 'mad' atmosphere, it was back to the awkward silences that happened more when Edward first showed up. Winry cleared her throat.

"Um, so Edward, I wanted to apologize for taking so long on your automail, its hard without Granny around..." Ed just nodded, and looked at her a little sadly, which made Winry even more confused.

"Its no real problem, Winry. I'm just glad I have a place to stay and nice company. Not to mention I'll finally have limbs that work."

Winry's heart skipped a beat. Nice company...? She tried to hide her blush, but she doubted that Edward saw it anyway. She nodded. "What will you do when I finish...?

He shrugged, and after a moment of silence he said rather quietly. "I don't really know what I'm going to do now that I'm back- er, I mean, from a journey that is" He hurriedly explained, noting the weird look on Winry's face. "I guess I'll head back to Cental, get my rank as FullMetal back, or look for a job, or something."

Winry's mind lingered on 'or something' a little longer then it should have, but she didn't say anything, and for the rest of dinner, they once again remained in just awkward silence.

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Well, another chapter done! I would really like it if maybe someone would like to be my Beta, but only if it's not trouble... (yay summer!)

I'm sorry if there a little OOC, it –is- AU, however. Im trying to get them to the point where I can make them act a little more like they do in the show. (note, the short talk and automail-freak, etc)

Hope you enjoyed, please R+R!


	3. Moving Forward

Sorry for taking so long with this chapter! ; I was on a mini-vacation sort of thing, but I'm back now! I might be gone again this weekend, but hopefully ill have another chapter out before then.

Thanks so much for all your reviews! I hope you enjoy chapter three of Thunderstorm :3

Oh- and Italics are flashbacks, mmkay? And sorry for the shortish chapter, I was sort of rushed --; hope you like it, anyway!

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Winry whipped her furrowed brow. This wasn't going as fast as she would like it to, sense Granny died she didn't have the help she once had. She was just grateful that Edward wasn't pressuring her into finishing, like her last costumer. And speaking of Ed...

"Winry! Are you finished for the moment? Breakfast is ready, and its going to get cold..." Winry perked up. 'he made BREAKFAST? Is this the same Ed...?' she rushed downstairs, and almost fell over in exasperation when she saw.

Edward was standing happily over an ordered meal. Winry gapped at him. "You ORDERED breakfast...? Where the heck...?" She sputtered, and then just gapped in amazement at him, then shook her head. "You can be really thick, sometimes." She glared at him. "How far did that poor man have to travel just to get us our food?"

Edward flinched. "Um..."

"Edward! Shit... you paid him well, right?" She glared at him menacingly, and her hand went for her wrench. Edward followed her hand movements, and gave her pleading eyes.

"YES! YES! I paid him well, I promise! Just... don't hit me!" He wanted to cower, but didn't. He just stared right back up at Winry, whos nostrils seemed to be flaring, but she lowered the wrench.

"FINE. You better eat all this, because im making my own breakfast"

"WHAT! Come on! Win-" He whined, Winry actually was amused. He was way to old for whining.

"No"

He humphed, and Winry beamed. 'so there' she thought triumphantly, and went to go make herself some non-ordered breakfast, while Ed pouted with a bunch of food in front of him.

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Winry stood in front of her full-length mirror (A/N- I know she doesn't actually have one. She does in this story, meh! X3) in apprehension. She didn't look good in dressed, at least she herself didn't think she looked good in dresses. She moved her hands up and down the silky blue dress, and wondered why her mom had never thrown it out, and why she was even wearing her mothers dress.

'_We should go out tonight' Edward commented lazily from the couch, where Winry was measuring his leg length. Winry blushed, and paused her work to see if he said anything else._

'_As payback from me to you for doing my automail' He stated simply. Winry raised a brow._

'_Isn't that what you pay me for?'_

'_Yeah, but that isn't romantic in the slightest, is it?' He said, giving her a shadow of a smirk before leaning back, and waving his hand. 'If you don't want to...'_

_Winry almost jumped out of her skin. 'If its not a problem! Id love to, saves me the time of making dinner.' Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked down. What was going on! She barely knew him, he had only been here for about two weeks._

'But', she thought, 'it never hurt to have friends around!' She sighed. Yes, a friend. That's all he meant to her, right? She jumped when she heard a knock on her door.

"Win, you ready- whoa"

He halted in the doorway and gulped. "Wow, Win, you look gorgeous" He flushed slightly, and looked down for a second before quickly looking up. "You ready to go?"

Winry nodded, through it felt like she was numb. 'Stupid! Compliment him back!' her head screamed at her. She winced lightly. "You look, er, really nice today, Ed" Which was sort of true, earlier he had been lazing around in a T-Shirt and boxers, but now he was dressed rather formally. She smiled at him, and walked behind him as he went down the stairs.

She took a deep breath as he opened the door for her. 'No big deal' she repeated to herself. 'Just going out to dinner with an automail patient for thanks, that it.'

But as he smiled at her, and as she smiled back and linked arms with him on the road down Resembool, she wasn't quite sure of that anymore.

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Chapter 3! I hope you liked it I hope I made at least a sort of cliffhanger there for you! The more you review- the faster ill put out chapters

Pinkie


	4. The Date

Sense last chapter was so short, I tried to make this one extra long X3

I hope you enjoy there date!

And I got a review asking about where Al was: In the first or second chapter, I stated that he had died, and we'll be able to find out how… well, pretty soon 3

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Winry stood in front of yet another mirror, this time one in the restraint. She hated how pale she looked, with a continuous blush lighting her cheeks. She tried to straighten some loose ends of her hair, and regretted not putting it up, but she didn't want to do it now, in the middle of a restraints toiletries.

It was a nice place, clean, friendly service, the cheapest food can be without being terrible, and it was a comfy, family-friendly place. Winry looked around the tiled floors and marble walls of the bathroom, wondering what her bathrooms would look like, if she had a place of her own. She instantly regretted her thoughts- she would never abandon the Rockbell house. Never. Taking a deep breath, she exited the bathroom to meet back up with Edward, who was waiting for a table in the front of the store.

Winry stood out of view of him for a second longer, thinking about how the walk here went, smiling slightly and blushing. She liked the reaction others gave when they saw her walking along with Ed. Living in such a small town, she knew everybody, and everybody knew her. They knew of her losses, and her tom-boyish ways. A couple people smiled suggestively at her, and some even went as far as to give her thumbs up, which made her blush even more.

Even if he was taking her out, they weren't officially a couple. He had to be getting back to Central, and even though she was trying to stall the process of his automail as much as she could, she couldn't make it wait anymore without seeming suspicious. But the truth was, she just didn't want the house to be quiet again. It felt great to have company in her house again, and her heart ached even thinking about the loneliness.

"Taking your time, I see" Winry took in a sharp breath, jumping slightly and turning around at the hand on her shoulder. She saw Edward standing behind her, smiling slightly. Winry blushed, and gave a little cough, but Ed shook it off.

"Ah, no problem. But this nice man IS waiting for us, to give us a table" He jerked his head towards a clean looking man, who must've been just a few years older then themselves.

She smiled politely at him, and apologized for her spacious actions. The waiter just laughed it off, and showed them to their table. Once they were seated and required menu's, Ed tried to start up the old question.

"So… why were you just standing alone back there, looking the total opposite way of the front? Do you not want to be here…?"

Shit. Winry felt horrible, he thought she was stalling because she didn't want to be here. She shook her head hurriedly. "Oh no, that's not it at all!" She explained quickly. "I, um, this lady was just giving me a hard time in the bathrooms because I was using up her 'precious mirror time' and I was… er, calming myself" She always had been bad at lying, but if Edward saw through it, he didn't say anything.

Winry hastily changed the subject. "So, um, what are you planning on getting?" She looked over her menu, thinking she would pick a salad of some sort, and a milkshake just because she had to be a little bad at least sometimes. She could easily exorcize off the calories, anyway.

"Hmmm" He said distractedly, looking over the menu as well. "Probably the rice bowl and steak" He said happily, and Winry could almost see his brain drooling. She smiled inwardly. "What about you, Win? What are you going to have?"

She had noticed him calling her this sense yesterday, and bit back the question as to why. Winry was a short enough name, why did she need a nickname? 'But' she thought, 'maybe for him I could let it slide.'

"I'm probably going to have the chicken salad" She said, making up her mind and nodding. "Yeah, that sounds good- Ah!"

As she finished with her statement, the waiter appeared at the table, and smiled at them both, and so they placed their orders. The waiter nodded and left, and Edward turned to Winry, smiling. "So, have you been here before?" Winry shook her head. "Ah, the food here is really good"

She smiled, and was going to say something, but Edward cut across her statement, seeming like he wanted her to know this, even if he would never admit to it. "Me and Alphonse used to go here all the time"

Winry looked at him sadly. "Alphonse, your-?" He nodded, and looked at her intensely, which mad her gulp.

"Yeah. We came here looking for my father, and after learning what he really was, we wanted to flee as soon as possible, but, that wasn't possible for my brother" Winry stayed quiet, seeing If he would continue, and after about a minute of silence, he spoke again. "We got into a fight, me and Al did. About my father. When the military saw me fighting with Al, verbally if not physically, I would never hurt my brother physically, they- well, they shot him down. He didn't make it" Winry gasped slightly, returning Edwards fierce stare.

"And you still want to go back to them?" She questioned angrily. Edward scowled.

"I have no choice. I have to; it's the only thing I CAN do. I'm useless otherwise" Winry shook her head, but Ed continued on anyway. "But, in respect for my brother, I will not have anything to do with the assholes that killed him. Until I get to join him myself, I will not rest until I get them unseated"

Winry remained quiet for the most part, looking down at the empty plate in front of her. "Thank you" She muttered quietly, almost too quietly for Ed to hear.

"For what?" He asked sincerely, and cocked his head in wonder. Winry took a deep breath, and shrugged.

"For being open with me, giving me company, and taking me out, its really kind…" She smiled at him gratefully, wanting to enjoy his company while it was still here. He smiled back at her, resisting the urge to touch her hand gently. He looked up as the waiter came back, dropping off there plates, and for the rest of the dinner, they remained in silence, though this time it wasn't awkward.

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Winry yawned as they returned to the house. It was times like these she wished she really had a car. No matter how good it was for you, she sometimes hated having to walk around everywhere. She opened the door for Ed, who smiled graciously, and walked in, dropping his coat on the back of a chair in the kitchen.

Winry followed suit, and yawned again. "God, I didn't realize I was this tiered!" She smiled. "I had fun, thank you. But this old fart is going to head to bed…"

She blushed furiously as she felt a soft hand grab her own, fleetingly entwining his fingers within hers. She turned to look at him, to see he, also, had a slight pink hue to his cheeks. "Thank you, Winry" He said firmly, gazing at her intently. She smiled, and gave his hand a slight squeeze, before he dropped the connection. She suddenly realized how cold her hand was.

"Its nothing Ed, no trouble at all" But she still smiled, and nodded. "Good night, then" She said, and headed upstairs, and as she neared the top, she heard him whisper softly..

"Good night, and thank you for everything, Winry…"

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Eee! Fourth chapter finished! Sorry I'm uploading it so late at night- I was just in a mood to write, and, so, I wrote! X3

I hope you liked it! Please, PLEASE Review! It helps me gain my confidence to write quicker and more often!

Pinkie


	5. Spark

Omigosh ;-; gomengomengomen for the late update! I've been busy, and then I had to re-write the chapter cause my computer lost it and just… yeah ;-; I'm soooo sorry!

But yeah --; Hope you enjoy chapter 5 of Thunderstorm!

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When he said that, Winry wasn't really sure what he meant. She furrowed her brow, but then, when she was laying in her bed quietly, she started to realize maybe he was thinking her for listening and being there to listen. Just, returning the thank you she had given earlier.

She looked at her hand, smiling slightly. His touch was so soft, but it was enough to be hard to escape from. She sighed happily, and fell asleep.

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Edward sighed, and rolled over, groaning as the sun hit his eyes. He blinked, getting used to the light as he yawned and got off the bed. He stretched his limbs, and looked around dimly, before he set his eyes on his clothes and got dressed, heading downstairs.

He took a deep breath through his nose, savoring the smell of the home cooked meal, knowing that in just more then a day or so he would have to leave and he wouldn't get to eat this kind of food for, at least a long while.

He smiled, and walked over to the kitchen, where Winry was hard at work cooking eggs and making toast, a rather common breakfast but Edward still loved it anyway. Winry smiled up at him when she realized he was there (Yes, up! Oh my… Ed grew!)

"Can I help you with anything?" Ed asked, smiling down at the food. Winry hummed for a second, but then shook her head.

"Nope! There almost ready, so ill have them ready in a second. Something you can do, however, is get plates set up?" She asked him, glancing at him to see him nod. "I'm sure you know this already, but there up in the cupboard there" She stated, pointing the spatula to a cabinet. Ed nodded, and started to set plates.

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Winry looked over to him, and couldn't help but blush. She tried not to go on the feeling that was in her stomach, as though it was doing gymnastics. She wondered if she was feeling more towards him then a normal "mechanic-patient" relationship, which made her bite her lip. She was still stalling, but the arm was practically done, and so was the leg. She couldn't stall anymore, which would mean at the latest he would be leaving tomorrow.

She didn't know why, but she suddenly got a hollow feeling in her stomach. She sighed, and shook her head. 'Its not as if I would have the courage to act on these thoughts, anyway. Besides, he has things to do, like go back to Central….' She sighed, wondering what it would be like to actually have plans to do something with the rest of her life. Well, she couldn't say she didn't have plans. She was going to keep living here and working on Automail. 'How fun' she thought moodily, and rolled her eyes.

She shook her head, and started to serve up breakfast. Edward smiled at her. "Thanks, Winry" He stated happily as she set out a plate in front of him. She just watched in mock-horror as he shoveled the food into his mouth. She looked at him with amusement when he looked up at her, grinning stupidly. She shook her head and sat down.

"Your hungry, I can see" She smiled, and started eating herself.

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Sometimes I could embarrass even myself. What was I doing, acting like a starved hobo? I silently cursed, as she looked down at me with that amused look of hers. I just grinned stupidly at her, and went back to my meal- this time being a little, er, neater with it.

I watched her as she lowered her head and started eating. I smiled slightly, looking across the table at her. She wasn't that bad looking, to say the least. I had to remind myself everyday not to get attached. I had to go back to Central, as much as I didn't want to. But it just felt so… natural… to wake up in an actual house and have someone to share meals with. It felt nice, to have good company.

I sighed into my food, putting the fork down as I finished. She looked up at me as I sighed, and I couldn't help smiling at least a little as her blue eyes reached mine. She cocked her head slightly, and peered at me questioningly. I shook my head. "Its nothing" I assured her, "Just thinking."

She looked at me sadly all of a sudden. I silently wondered why. We both flushed slightly once we realized we were staring at each other. She cleared her throat. "Um, your arm should be finished tonight" She said conversationally. "So we can dock it tomorrow" Edward nodded slowly, and it seemed like something had dawned on Winry's face.

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'So he won't have to leave tomorrow, just because I finished' she thought, almost gleefully. 'I have to dock, and then there's the recovery'

"Dock?" She looked up to Edward, who looked pale, "I hate docking" he moaned slightly, staring at the table. I looked at him sadly. I didn't know the pain myself, but I could sure imagine it. So many people, even grown men, screamed and moaned with agony, tears streaming down there faces. Then there was the fever that they caught almost instantly afterwards. She sighed unhappily, she defiantly didn't want to see Ed in that position. She finished her meal, and grabbed hers and Ed's plate. Ed looked at her strangly, but smirked.

"I can clean the plates, you know" He stated quietly, and this time it was his turn to give an amused smile. Winry shrugged.

"You're the guest. Ill do it" She smiled at him, nodding to reassure him. "You need to get some rest and relax. Tomorrow is going to be painful" She reminded him. He flinched, and shrugged.

"Okay. Whatever" He turned to leave for his bedroom, but heard a loud clanging sound that made him turn again, looking at Winry quizzically. She had dropped the plates noisily into the sink, and was looking at him. She walked over to him, reaching her hand out. "Er, Winry?" Edward asked nerviously.

Winry smiled, and made a swift movement. It took Ed a second to realize she had taken the hair tie out of his hair. He looked at her, blinking his eyes blankly. "Wha-?"

"I ran out, so I have to borrow yours" She said, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. He frowned, reaching to her to get it back.

"I don't think so. I don't have any others, either, and I need it too, you know"

Winry tapped her chin, grasping it tightly in her hand, walking around him and then to the living room. "Nah, you don't need it much. Plus, I need my hair out of my face to concentrate" She said matter-of-factly. Edward scowled, waltzing to her, grabbing her hand, trying to pry it from her fingers. She giggled slightly, wriggling her hand out.

"Oh come on-!" She laughed as she saw his anger rising. "Its not THAT big of a deal! You don't -need- the hair tie"

"Neither do you!" He shot back, glaring at her and stepping towards her to get it back. She just grinned and stepped back a step herself. Edward groaned with annoyance. "Just please give it back, Winry?" He almost pleaded. As a matter of fact, he didn't really know why he was trying so hard to get it back. It felt weird not to have his hair tied.

"Nah, ill keep it, thanks" She said, stepping back as Edward stepped forwards. She gasped, as she tripped over something she didn't see, clinging to Ed's shirt and bringing him down with her. There heads banged together, making Winry groan. Ed moaned, holding his head. He picked his head up slightly, and was met by the confused face of Winry.

They both turned scarlet, as they looked to see one of Ed's legs on either side of Winry's waist. Ed's hand was grasping the hand of hers with the hair tie, and there red faces were just inches apart. Winry's hair was spread out behind her, and Ed's draped around his face. There breath quickened as Ed found himself leaning closer to her, both there hearts beating madly.

----

HAHAHA cliffhanger 3

Please review!

Pinkie


	6. Things Begin

Meh- sorry for the long time off, I had family problems, then computer problems. I don't really want to get into it, but here it is, the sixth chapter.

I hope you like it, sorry for the cliffhanger ;D

---

Winry gasped. What was he DOING? He was leaning closer! Her heart thumped so loudly, she was surprised he couldn't hear it.

Edward's eyes were not focused on her, however, but focused on a point right above her shoulder. "Don't move" He whispered, reaching a hand up, brushing her blushing cheek. Winry inwardly shivered at the touch. Flicking by her shoulder, a huge spider was flung away. Winry screamed, and wrapped her arms around Edwards neck, which just added to there already suggestive position.

---(POV change- Edward)

"I fucking HATE spiders!" Winry yelled vulgarly, trying to scramble up Edward's midsection. Edward flushed, and his teeth gritted, trying to get the scared 19 year old off of him.

He sat up, and since Winry was clinging around his neck, he brought her up with him, and she landed almost gracefully in his lap, her head buried in his chest. Blushing, He tried to unlatch her arms from his neck, and after many attempts he got her arms off, but she didn't leave his lap. She was just looking down at his chest, shivering slightly.

"Sorry" she muttered, holding out his hair tie. Edward blinked; he had forgotten how they had gotten into the position in the first place. He smiled slightly, grabbing the hair tie out of her palm. He gently got out from under her, and stood up, offering his hand to her. She looked up at it hesitantly, but then grabbed it and let him lift her up.

--- (POV change- Winry)

She sighed, and looked at Ed. 'How could I have been so stupid?' she thought, 'I actually thought he was going to- arg!' She looked down, but then looked up again when she felt Edward looking at her with sad eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly. She forced a smile and shook her head.

"Its nothing, I promise" He gave her an unbelieving look, but shrugged it off and instead walked into the kitchen.

She sighed, feeling rather flustered and stupid. Rolling her eyes at her own stupidity, she walked into her workshop, where instead of working, she sat down at her workbench and peered at the calendar.

She blinked. Tomorrow was Ed's birthday- according to the badly written (Edward had obviously written it in himself) scrawl on the calendar. She smiled slightly, and shook her head, returning to the kitchen, where she found Ed burning something or another on the stove.

---- (No POV)

"WAKE UP!" An excited voice yelled from outside Winry's door. Opening her eyes groggily, she glared at the ceiling.

"No…" She said stubbornly, and rolled over.

"I'll brake down the door- you know I will" He threatened. Winry huffed into her pillow.

"Why do I have to wake up?" She asked grumpily, throwing a pillow at the closed door. Ed laughed, and turned the knob, going into the girl's room, and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Because today is my birthday, and I want to go out to breakfast with you" He said simply, smiling at her. Winry cracked one eye open and looked at him suspiciously. He laughed, and removed the covers from her body. She shivered, only being in a light night dress. She frowned, and reluctantly sat up, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"Get dressed, okay? I'll meet you downstairs" He said happily, walking out of her room. Winry casted an amused glance at the back of the door, before getting up, walking to her closet, and getting dressed.

She returned downstairs, peering at Edward with a weird expression. Grinning, Edward opened the door. Winry went outside with the confused thought of why he was taking HER out for breakfast on HIS birthday. She sighed, and suddenly had the feeling of guilt. She didn't get him anything for his birthday, and here he was taking her to breakfast.

This wasn't right.

She stopped suddenly, making Edward run into her back with a small 'oof' noise. He looked down at her with a worried expression. Did he do something wrong?

"I feel bad, Ed" She started bluntly. "I didn't get you anything for your birthday, in fact, I didn't even know about it until yesterday night. And then here you are, taking me to breakfast when it's your birthday. I just… it's not fair. I want to pay for breakfast, and then, can we go into town so I can get you something? I'm sorry I didn't before…" She flushed, and looked at her feet.

Edward smiled, and moved to face her. "It's not a problem, I don't want anything, and I'M the one who wanted to take YOU to breakfast, if or if not it was my birthday" Winry flushed, but shook her head.

"Well, thanks, but, I'm going to pay, okay?"

"You won't let me say no." He stated.

She smiled. "No, I won't"

"Then I guess it's alright"

She smiled, and they headed to a small diner, where they each had their own specific meals. Ed had eggs and hash browns, while Winry just had pancakes.

"So, your 20 today, right?" She asked him coyly, and he frowned.

"Well hey, you'll be 20 soon enough!" He argued.

"Yeah, but I'm not yet. It just makes you old"

"Does not!"

"Does too, and even though your older then me, your still shorter-"

"DON'T CALL ME SHORT!"

Winry just smiled happily at him, as they finished their meals, Winry paying, and they left the diner together.

"Okay, now we have to go to town, so you can pick something out, okay?" Winry said happily, looking at Edward, who was still muttering about the short comment. Winry sighed, and grabbed his hand, making him jerk out of his angry mutterings.

"Come on, Ed, we're going to get you something, okay?" Winry's cheeks tinged pink as he smiled at her gratefully.

"You don't have to get me anything" He assured her, but she shook her head.

"I WANT to get you something, Ed" She nodded reassuringly, tugging on his hand slightly.

--

"They're sure having fun, aren't they?" A drawling female voice stated, hiding in the shadow of the diner, as the two argued over where to go first. "I thought by now he'd of gone back to Central, as it looks, both his limbs are done…"

"Well, you can see clearly that he's been distracted" A second voice said, laughing slightly. "Who knew he could swoon this easily…?"

"If we want to get his attention," The female voice said firmly, "We're going to have to do something to upset him. It looks like breaking his automail just gave us another chance." The female said, grinning into the shadows, and at the other two who were sitting in the shadows with her.

----

Hurrah, another chapter gone. It was starting to get too boring, and I had another idea for a different story, so I decided to combine the two slightly, as to add a little more to the story. I know this chapter was a little bland, but I needed to set up for my plan, and I just want to hurry up and make the characters 20 xD

Once again, sorry about the late update, but better late then never, right:3

-Pinkie


	7. Danger

Nothing to say today, so, here's chapter 7!

----

"Ah come on, that's so booooring" Winry complained, looking at the plain white shirt Ed was looking at. "At least get one with color, if not a design pattern" She protested, and looked at him innocently when he turned to glare at her.

"It's my birthday- you told me I could pick anything I wanted!" He said, but he put the white shirt down, and sighed. "I don't know, I just can find anything I really want" He shrugged, and turned to look at a pale blue jersey top, his brow furrowing. Winry sighed, and looked around the store.

After much arguing about where they should go shop wise for Ed's birthday, they both agreed that he needed more clothes. The only problem was that Ed didn't really like clothes shopping, and had no taste for clothes besides the ones he already owned.

Ed looked quietly at another light blue top, and Winry remembered the picture she had seen of him when he was younger, and she remembered that he was wearing a blue t-shirt top, and who must've been Al was wearing a red one. She smiled sadly at the thought that maybe he wanted that color for that reason.

As she heard the distant jingle of the bells on the door, she turned to Ed, who was still looking at the same shirt he was looking at before. Walking over to him, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's get this shirt, okay? And you're sure you don't want to get anything else- another shirt, or pants perhaps?" She asked him gently, but he smiled and shook his head, reassuring her that this was all he needed. She walked with him to the register, where she paid for it and headed for the door.

Once outside, Winry thought something might've happened. Everything was silent, and there were sirens blaring from far away. She looked to Edward, who looked back at her in alarm. She stepped a bit closer to him, as they walked down the barren sidewalk.

"Where is everyone…?" He whispered into the still air, and all of a sudden, Winry felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. Turning around quickly, she cursed and fell into Edward in shock.

There were two Edwards. When Ed turned around, he was face-to-face with himself. Blinking, he shook his head, glaring at, well, himself, and he transformed his automail into a blade (much to Winry's horror).

The other Ed laughed. "Ah, I didn't realize you could do that, now could I?" He mocked, as there was a flash of light, and this Edward, two, had transformed his limb into a blade, though the way it happened had looked far different from the way the real Ed had done it.

Behind the fake Ed, two others came out of the store. One was a slim female, with long black hair and a rather provocative dark green dress. Beside her there was a rather strange man, who was short and plump, with a wickedly evil smile, and who smelled horribly like human blood.

"Now, now, Envy" The female coaxed. "We don't want you killing him, now do we?" She stated with a wry smile, crossing her arms.

The fake Ed, or Envy as the female had called him, grinned maliciously (Winry flinched as she saw this expression played out on Ed's face) and was engulfed in white and blue light. Winry gasped, and Ed growled as the mans figure changed.

Green hair fell around his body in points, and his pale body was covered in a green what looked like a belly shirt and skirt. Ed looked at the man blandly, it was an interesting fashion statement. The man grinned and turned to the female nonchalantly.

"Now Lust, who do you take me for?" Envy said, laughing in a horrible way.

"Did you kill someone? Is that what the sirens are about?" Edward yelled angrily. Envy shrugged, and put his hands on his hips.

"Why would it matter, eh pipsqueak?" He said, and laughed as Winry had to hold Ed back. "Excited little thing, aren't you?" He mocked, and smiled, returning to Lust's side.

"Who are you?" Winry questioned them uneasily as Gluttony's stomach rumbled, and he grinned, looking at Lust.

"Do as you wish.." she said lazily to Gluttony, who started to close in on Ed and Winry. Ed gently pushed Winry back, and frowned at Gluttony.

Winry gasped as Gluttony charged at Ed. Ed gasped, also, and tried to duck. Only missing his fist by an inch, he started to panic, "I don't get it!" he yelled, "Why are you after me, what did I do?"

Lust and Envy just smiled, and Gluttony plowed himself into Edward.

Ed huffed as blood pored steadily from his mouth. The line of his vision was getting hazy, as he teetered on the edge of unconsciousness. Winry screamed as Gluttony charged again, and for Edward, suddenly everything went black.

----

Sorry for the short chapter.

-Pinkie


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